First Ever Rice Shipment from Pakistan to Arrive at Mongla Port in Bangladesh

For the first time since the creation of Bangladesh, a cargo ship carrying rice from Pakistan is set to arrive at the Mongla Port in Khulna city this week. The Pakistani vessel, loaded with 25 metric tons of Basmati rice, left Karachi’s Bin Qasim Port a few days ago and is expected to anchor at Chittagong Port within the next two to three days.

Sources reported that after unloading 60% of the rice at Chittagong, the ship will continue its journey towards Mongla Port, carrying the remaining cargo. Mongla Port, located on the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, is the second-largest and the second-busiest port in Bangladesh, after Chittagong.

This shipment is part of a government-level agreement signed between Bangladesh and Pakistan earlier last month, under which the Trading Corporation of Pakistan is set to export 50 metric tons of Basmati rice to Bangladesh. The first shipment of rice has already been dispatched, and the second shipment is expected to arrive by the end of this month.

According to Indrajit Sarkar, the Deputy Controller of Movement and Preservation Office in Khulna, 40% of the 25 metric tons of rice will be unloaded at Mongla Port. Tyab Rahman, the Assistant Food Controller of Khulna District, stated that the central warehouses in Boiyra and Maheshwar Pasha currently hold 47,000 metric tons of rice. Bangladeshi officials revealed that the combined storage capacity of these two warehouses is 100,000 metric tons.